Godbrothers
by Nutmeg Loves Books
Summary: No longer one-shot! Just a hodgepodge of missing moments of Harry and Neville's friendship throughout the books posted in no particular order. Canon and not slash. First story: Neville has a confession to make, and Harry and Neville wonder together what it would've been like to be Godbrothers. PS This beautiful cover art was found on Google and I have no rights to it whatsoever.
1. Godbrothers

**Hello random fanfiction users! Yes, I am alive, and no, this is not the sequel to Marauders Marauding, if that was what you were hoping. Sorry about that. Instead you get this random story that I was thinking about, which will remain a one-shot unless you all yell at me to add more chapters (but in that case, I would have to think of an actual plot). Enjoy!**

This takes place directly after the chapter in the Goblet of Fire called 'The Unforgivable Curses.' Moody has just showed the class the Unforgivable Curses, and Sirius sent back a letter to Harry saying he's flying back up north. The chapter ends with this quote:

"The dormitory was completely silent, and, had he been less preoccupied, Harry would have realized that the absence of Neville's usual snores meant that he was not the only one lying awake."

...

Harry tossed and turned, finally giving up sleep that night as a lost cause. It was now nearly two o'clock in the morning. He quietly pulled back the covers and slipped out onto the smooth cold floor, padding over to the window. When he looked out across the grounds, Harry saw that everything was bathed in silver moonlight and fleetingly wondered where Professor Lupin was now. He resolved to write to the man the next morning to find out how he was doing; maybe his old Professor would also be able to think of a way to stop Sirius from coming back again when Harry was fine on his own.

Suddenly filled with a restless energy, Harry paced back and forth, running a hand through his hair and messing it up even more. Sirius was coming back north, where Aurors and Dementors and even muggles were looking for him, and it was all Harry's fault. Why couldn't he have just kept quiet about a little pain in his scar? He'd dealt with worse pain before on his own, after all. It hadn't been nearly as bad as getting stabbed by a Basilisk fang, like he had in his second year, or as bad as it had been when he had fought Voldemort himself in his first year. Deciding he was too anxious and wide awake to stay in the dormitory just now, Harry began rummaging around in his trunk for his father's old Invisibility Cloak. Perhaps a late-night stroll would clear his head a bit.

"Harry?" said a quiet, sleepy voice, "Where're you goin'?" It was Neville.

"Nowhere, Neville," said Harry quickly. "I just can't sleep."

"Me either," Neville whispered. "I can't stop thinking about the-about those curses."

The Unforgivable Curses had not been pleasant for Harry to see either, but he was sure that Neville had been worse off than even him. It had been quite disturbing to see the curse that killed his parents, yes, but Harry was more worried about Sirius getting captured now than about his parents' murders thirteen years ago. However, as Neville wasn't one of the few people who was aware of Sirius' innocence, Harry couldn't exactly confide this in the other boy. Instead, Harry wondered why Neville had been so much more deeply affected by the lesson than anyone else. As far as he knew, the shy boy had never come into contact with the Unforgivable Curses like Harry had as a baby.

After a long pause, Harry decided to voice his thoughts. "Why was it so bad for you, Neville? I mean, I don't think the others minded seeing the curses at all; they thought it was a cool lesson." There was another silence, and Harry wondered if his question had been too personal. _Stupid_ , he berated himself. Why, other than a very sensitive reason, would someone their age be so traumatised by those curses? Then again, Harry was curious, and perhaps Neville had only been frightened by the thought of what those curses could do to a person (though that idea grew less and less likely as the silence slowly lengthened). Harry could hear Neville shuffling out of bed, and then the hangings pulled back so that they could face each other in the faint moonlight. Neville's eyes were red-rimmed, and his face looked as though he were about to admit to something dreadful.

"If you don't want to say-" Harry tried to backtrack.

"No," said Neville.

"No?"

"No, I want to tell you," Neville said, his voice growing stronger. "My Gran always says that I should be proud, and, well, I guess never mentioning anything to anyone doesn't make me seem very proud, does it?"

Harry silently shook his head.

"Right," said Neville, "right. A group of Death Eaters broke into my house when I was only one; I think it was only a day or two after You-Know-Who's defeat, actually." He paused and glanced meaningfully at Harry's scar. "So yeah. They broke in and-my Gran says they put up a great fight, but no one really knows, do they?-and they tortured my parents with that Cruciatus Curse." He gulped several times.

"Oh, Neville," Harry whispered.

"Wait, there's more." Neville cut him off. "My parents held them off long enough that they didn't notice me, but they had been under the curse too long by the time the Aurors got there." He sniffed. "They're still in St. Mungo's Hospital. I visit them with my Gran sometimes; the Healers say there was too much damage. I-I like to think they know I'm there, that I'm their son, but…" Neville didn't seem to be able to say any more, but Harry understood. Neville's parents were either incapable of waking up, or awake, but incapable of remembering and recognizing their own son. Neville dissolved into deep shuddery breaths that weren't quite real sobs, but close enough to it, while Harry stood by a bit awkwardly, unsure of himself. He wasn't used to dealing with crying people.

"I never knew…" said Harry when Neville seemed to have sufficiently recovered. It was just beginning to dawn on him how awful it must be to have parents that were alive, but unable to function or recognize him. Harry sometimes got sympathy for being an orphan, but he couldn't help but feel that Neville deserved it more.

"I probably should've said before," Neville admitted, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "Specially to you, Harry. I don't know if you know, but my Mum was-is your Godmother."

"My what?" Harry was dumbstruck. He knew, of course, that Sirius had been named his Godfather, but it had never even occurred to him that there might be a Godmother as well.

Neville misinterpreted his confusion. "She was meant to take care of you if anything ever happened to your parents," he explained. "If things had gone a bit differently, we might've been... well… Godbrothers I guess."

Harry stared at Neville incredulously. That close. He had been that close to growing up with Neville's parents, as Neville's brother, instead of being stuck with the Dursleys. It made him nearly ache with longing, and also raised his disgust and anger toward the Death Eaters that had stolen parents from both him and Neville. "I wish that had happened," he said fervently.

"Really?" Neville seemed a little skeptical.

"Well, yeah. I've always wondered what it'd be like to have a sibling, and you'd have been loads better than the Dudley at any rate," mumbled Harry. "Not to mention his parents."

"You live with your Aunt and Uncle, right?" asked Neville. At Harry's nod, he continued, "I suppose you couldn't exactly go and live with your Godfather, huh?"

"What?" said Harry. How much did Neville know?

Sorry," Neville blushed. "My Gran told me about what Sirius Black did you your parents. I know you don't like your relatives much, but at least you weren't brought up by a Death Eater."

Harry forced a smile. "Yeah. I'd rather have stayed with your family though."

Neville grinned. "Imagine all the trouble we could've gotten up to."

"Me, not you," Harry corrected, glad for the change in subject. "I'd want to get into trouble, and you'd warn me not to. Then I'd probably end up breaking my leg or something and you'd just say you told me so."

"No way," Neville shook his head. "I'd try to stop you, but if you didn't listen I'd go join whatever you were doing. There's no way I'd let you leave me behind-I'd miss all the fun!"

"True," Harry laughed quietly.

A silence followed, though it was not as uncomfortable as before. Harry suspected that Neville, like him, was wondering what it would've been like to be raised as brothers. Eventually he glanced back down at his watch. It was now half-past two.

"We should probably get some sleep," he said.

"Guess so," said Neville, yawning. "Night, Harry."

"Night Neville."

For some reason, his talk with Neville had tired Harry out. The relaxed discussion had calmed his nerves a bit, and he fell back into a peaceful sleep until morning; Harry only wished that he had been placed with the Longbottoms after that Halloween night when he was one year old. He had a feeling that his childhood would have been very different in a very nice way.


	2. Bravery

This takes place after Hagrid visits Harry in the Hospital Wing at the end of _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone_ and gives him the photo album of his parents. It begins after this quote:

"'Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos… knew yeh didn' have any… d'yeh like it?' Harry couldn't speak, but Hagrid understood." (page 304)

Harry spent most of the afternoon thumbing through the photographs Hagrid had given him. There were many pictures of a boy in Gryffindor robes that looked almost exactly like Harry smiling, laughing, or joking around with three other boys. James Potter had brown eyes, and Harry thought his father's nose might have been a bit longer than his own, but other than that they could've been twins. As he got farther along in the album, a pretty red-haired girl Harry thought must be his mother began popping up more and more often. The first time he saw her in the album Harry leaned so close to the picture that his nose brushed against it. She was sitting on top of a large gray rock at the edge of the lake and staring down at the giant squid. There were several twigs and leaves at the edges of the frame, leading Harry to believe that his father had been spying on her and took the picture without her knowing.

Harry was looking at his parents' wedding pictures in awe when Madam Pomfrey told him another visitor had arrived.

"Great!" Harry grinned, carefully marking his place before setting the book aside. "Who this time?"

"Neville Longbottom," said Madam Pomfrey, holding the door open for the timid boy.

As soon as he saw Harry, Neville rushed over and began to wring his hands, apologising frantically all the while. "I'm so sorry about the other night, Harry! I didn't know it was important; I thought you were just sneaking around again, but I knew that was against the rules and I didn't want Gryffindor to lose any more points and I remembered last time it happened the whole house was mad at you for weeks. If I'd known what you were doing I swear I-"

"Neville," said Harry loudly, cutting him off. Then, when he was sure he had Neville's full attention, "I don't blame you at all. In fact, I wanted to say sorry to you." Neville looked stunned.

"But I tried to stop you!"

"Yeah," Harry grinned. "And you did great!"

There was a short pause. Neville looked even more confused. "I don't understand," he said.

Harry sighed, slumping back onto his pillows. "Neville, you've been caught in the crossfire between us and Malfoy all year. Then you were really brave trying to stop us the other night, and we were sort of jerks to you."

"Brave? But I'm not brave at all!"

Harry sat up a bit more. "You've been shy all year, Neville. Draco picked on you, Snape scared you, and you thought you should've been made a Hufflepuff because you said you weren't brave enough."

Neville looked ready to say something about how he didn't think anything had changed, but Harry kept going. "Now look at you: you took on Crabbe and Goyle single-handedly at the quidditch game! You are brilliant at Herbology! You grew a backbone this year, Neville, and when you saw us doing something you knew was against the rules, you tried to stop us instead of letting us walk all over you! Just being shy doesn't mean you're not brave, you know."

"It didn't make any difference," Neville argued. "Crabbe and Goyle knocked me out, and you three still snuck around me."

Harry shook his head. "You can learn to win fights later," he said, "but learning to know when and what to fight for is important now, and you did it. That's why you're a Gryffindor."

Neville gave a little smile. "You really think so?"

"I know so."

"Thanks Harry," said Neville."You forgive me?" He stuck out his hand.

Harry shook it. "If you forgive me too."

"Deal."

As he withdrew his hand, Neville suddenly let out a little "Oh!" and began hurriedly patting his pockets. "I almost forgot!" he said. "The twins sent you a replacement for their toilet seat, since they knew it got confiscated and all."

Harry felt a twinge of curiosity. What could the twins have sent instead? Finally, Neville located whatever it was in his pocket, glanced around for Madam Pomfrey, and plunked the item on the side-table beside the small mountain of sweets. Slowly, Harry reached out a hand a picked it up. Then he laughed.

Neville gave a sideways grin. "The figured the seat from the toilet was too obvious," he whispered, "so this time they sent along the flusher instead."


	3. Alias

This takes place after all the students get back from Christmas Break, the night before term starts. Wood has just talked to Harry about the Firebolt and Harry heads up to the dorm.

Previous quote: "I'll make her see reason… A Firebolt… a real Firebolt, on our team… She wants Gryffindor to win as much as we do…. I'll make her see sense. A Firebolt…" (page 235)

 **...**

Too tired to deal with Ron and Wood complaining about his broom together, Harry claimed he needed an early night and meandered up to his dorm. He wasn't remotely tired yet. When Harry finally stepped inside, he saw that he wasn't the only one who didn't want to deal with the crowded, noisy common room. "How was your Christmas, Neville?" he asked.

The blond boy looked up from his book, The Herbology Journal of Emily Frann, and smiled at Harry in the doorway. "Pretty good. I've got to remember to thank Hermione for this book; it's excellent."

Harry shook his head in amusement. "I don't know how she does it," he admitted. "She even finds books that I think are interesting." Neville laughed.

"Actually, Harry, I wanted to ask you about something."

Harry shrugged and sat down beside Neville. "Sure."

"Have you ever ridden on the Knight Bus?" said Neville with a shrewd look.

The question took Harry off guard. He took a moment to process Neville's question before he gulped and felt his cheeks begin to turn red. The previous summer he had run away from the Dursley's after blowing up his awful Aunt Marge, who had been insulting his parents relentlessly all week. He had then accidentally summoned the Knight Bus, and when the conductor, Stan Shunpike, asked his name, Harry had told him he was Neville Longbottom. Stan had later discovered the truth, but Harry had no doubt that if Neville had ridden the bus, then Stan had probably mentioned it.

"I think I'll take that very guilty expression as a confession…" Neville grinned. "Did you really tell them you were me?"

"Yes," Harry groaned. "I'm really sorry, Neville, it just sort of slipped out! I thought the Ministry was going to be after me for accidentally blowing up my aunt."

Neville snorted. "I have a few relatives I wish I could blow up too. What did she do?"

"Oh, she was going on about how my parents were drunken wastrels who saddled my good, generous relatives with the burden of their son," said Harry. "I think she might've implied that there was something wrong with my Mum that got passed on to me, but I was too mad to pay much attention at that point."

"That's terrible!" cried Neville indignantly. Then his expression turned very strange. "Harry… you know that's not true, don't you?"

Harry shrugged. "Well yeah, I guess. People here are always telling me how great they were, and I have pictures now, but I don't really know much about them."

There was a short pause while Neville seemed to contemplate something. Then he turned back to Harry determinedly. "Your Mum was always laughing," he said, to Harry's surprise. "Her favorite color was green, and her favorite robes were yellow, even though they looked awful with her hair. She hated flying, and her favorite subject was Charms, I think."

"How d'you know all that?" asked Harry, shocked.

Neville blushed. "Our Mums were best friends in Hogwarts," he said. "Whenever I asked Gran about mine, your Mum was always part of the story. I have a few pictures of them together." He shuddered. "Those yellow robes were rather… unforgettable."

It was just occurring to Harry that, if Neville lived with his Gran, something had obviously happened to his parents too. He was about to question Neville further about it when Dean and Seamus came bouncing into the dorm.

"Hey Harry, Neville!" Dean waved.

"Yeah, hi," said Seamus, who was laughing at a drawing Dean had made. "Good Christmas?"

"Yes," said Harry and Neville. The two best friends seemed satisfied and hurried over to Seamus' bed. It sounded as though Dean were making another funny picture, because Seamus kept saying things like, "Perfect!" and "Add another one here."

It didn't seem like a good idea to ask Neville about his parents when Dean and Seamus were right there, so Harry made a mental note to ask him later and instead sent Neville a joking grin.

"So, do I have permission to use your name whenever I feel the need to hide from the Ministry?"

Neville laughed. "Only on the Knight Bus," he said. "Otherwise use your cousin's name or something."

"Deal," said Harry.

"Plus, I won't even tell my Gran on you," Neville added as they shook on it. "I don't know whether she'd try to take you down several pegs, or brag to everyone she knows how Harry Potter impersonated her grandson."

"Please, neither of those things!" Harry pretended to beg. "Save me from the clutches of your Gran, Neville!"

Neville rolled his eyes and shoved him off the bed.

Just then, Ron entered the room as well. "Hey Neville," he said, before turning to Harry. "Harry-what are you doing on the floor?"

"Oh, you know, just begging Neville here not to sic his Gran on me," said Harry, standing up. Neville snorted quietly. "Did you and Wood get tired of insulting McGonagall?"

Ron glanced mutinously out the door and shook his head. "Wood's gone to see her about the Firebolt," he explained. "Hermione better watch out if he can't get it back!" Harry nodded in agreement.

That night, after everyone else had gone to sleep, Harry shuffled out of bed to look through the window. The grounds were covered in snow, with lots of footprints going who knew where trailing across it, but Harry was still thinking about what Neville had said. He didn't have many pictures of his Mum in his album. She only began to appear around what he guessed was his parents' sixth year. Harry hadn't seen any hint of ugly yellow robes, or known that she laughed all the time. He was a little annoyed that Neville knew more about his mother than he did, but Harry reasoned that it wasn't his friend's fault. Maybe Neville would show Harry his pictures sometime; it would be cool to learn more about Lily Potter. Plus, Harry wanted a chance to ask Neville about his own parents privately.

Harry sighed a little and crawled back under his covers. Maybe someday, he would work up the courage to actually ask, instead of just thinking about it.

Over the next weeks, long Dementor lessons with Lupin, Quidditch, and homework would drive the photo album and Neville's parents completely out of Harry's mind. He never did remember his resolve to ask Neville about his parents; at least, not that year.

* * *

Thanks to all of you who have followed, favorited, or reviewed! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to hear from you, so please continue doing it!

Keep reading and writing! ~Meg


	4. Gran

Harry given the twins his Triwizard winnings at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Stepping off the train, Harry runs into Neville...

"He left the compartment before [the twins] could say another word, stepping over Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were still lying on the floor, covered in hex marks." (pg. 733)

...

Harry began to walk faster in order to catch up to Ron, Hermione, and the Weasleys before they went home. He didn't see Neville exiting the train in front of him until they collided, knocking Harry's trunk open and spilling his things all over the ground. Hedwig's cage clattered to the ground too, accompanied by the owl's loud shrieks as she was bumped and jostled inside it.

"Sorry about that, Harry," exclaimed Neville, hurriedly righting Hedwig's cage and helping Harry to collect his things and shove them back into the trunk.

Harry shook his head as he picked up a stray sock. "It was my fault; I wasn't watching where I was going."

They worked together in silence for several minutes, not bothering with organization or folding, just shoving everything together as it came. Finally, Neville handed Harry his hat and, standing, glanced around a final time. "I think that's everything," he said.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Thanks for helping out."

"No problem," Neville grinned. Then something caught his eye and the grin faded. "Looks like my Gran came looking for me. That's her over there."

Harry followed Neville's pointing hand to a regal, severe looking woman wearing an old fashioned green dress and an elaborate hat with a fake stuffed vulture on it. He had to hold back a snort when he remembered a boggart that looked like Snape dressed in those same clothes.

Neville was still looking at his Gran, who hadn't spotted them yet. "She's always going on about you, you know. I don't know if she gets that you're basically just a regular Gryffindor."

Harry, who had increasingly hated his fame ever since Rita Skeeter had begun writing untrue newspaper articles about him, felt oddly touched. "Thanks, Neville." His friend looked at him strangely. "I wish everyone else thought I was just a regular guy too," Harry explained. Neville laughed a little.

"Do you want to meet her?" he asked. Then he blushed a little. "I don't want you to, like, impress her or anything, but she's under the impression that I don't have any friends because she hasn't met them, so-"

"Sure, Neville," Harry interrupted him. To be honest, he was a little curious to meet Neville's Gran after all the stories he'd heard from Neville. Harry wondered if Neville was rather unconfident and forgetful because she was a bit overbearing, or if she was a bit overbearing because Neville was unconfident and forgetful.

Neville glanced at his Gran uncomfortably. "She might… well, she might just see the Famous Harry Potter, if you know what I mean," he confessed. "And she'll probably compare me to you…"

Harry really didn't want to go through anything like that, and he had a feeling Neville had been "compared" to him before, but Neville had asked him to meet his Gran, and Harry wouldn't turn him down. Maybe he could change the opinion of Neville's Gran a little. He took a deep breath. "Let's do it."

Neville led him out from behind the train and Harry followed him up to Mrs. Longbottom, who had finally spotted them and was tapping a cane impatiently. Harry got the feeling that the came was completely for show, as she was standing very straight and proud without leaning on it at all.

"Come on, Neville, we haven't got all day," she said when they were not far away. Neville and Harry quickly covered the rest of the distance, and Neville's Gran opened her arms. Neville gave her a fast hug and then pulled away.

"Gran," he said politely, "I'd like you to meet my friend Harry Potter. Harry, this is my Gran."

Harry stuck out his hand nervously. "Pleased to meet you."

Mrs. Longbottom slowly took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "The pleasure is mine, Mr. Potter," she murmured, eyeing him beadily. Harry got the feeling he was being inspected, and she didn't know whether or not to pass him yet. "How was your school year?" she asked.

Harry shrugged. "As well as it could be with all the stuff that happened, I guess."

"Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament," she nodded, sending Neville a sharp glance. "I was rather surprised when Neville didn't even try to enter. I heard there were several Gryffindors that did, and you, who are underage, even got in."

"That was an accident," Harry protested. "Neville was much smarter than the rest of us, only wanting to watch instead of caring about 'eternal glory' and all that rot!" Neville shot him a thankful grin, which Harry returned. He wasn't going to let Neville's family think their kid a coward if he could help it.

"Yes, well," Mrs. Longbottom sighed. "It was something his father would have done."

"Mrs. Longbottom," said Harry shortly, "I don't know much about Neville's parents, but I've heard they were good people who fought bravely and loved their son for who he is; I'm sure you miss them a lot. Neville is not his father, though. I have a feeling his parents would rather have him and you accept him as he is and be confident in who he is rather than have you trying to turn into a copy of someone else."

There was a long silence in which Mrs. Longbottom gave him a hard stare. Neville, standing behind her, watched the scene with wide eyes. Harry wondered if he was about to be scolded, or even yelled at, by Neville's Gran in the middle of the quickly emptying platform. Her eyes narrowed and her face twitched a bit. Harry gulped.

Then Mrs. Longbottom did the last thing Harry expected: she began to laugh.

"Oh my," she said between chuckles, "No one has dared tell me off like that in a long time." Both Neville and Harry breathed huge sighs of relief, though Harry could feel his face burning.

"Sorry," he began, but she didn't let him finish.

"No need to be sorry, Mr. Potter." There was a new gleam in her eye. "You were right to say those things. It's only that you reminded me of you mother; she was always scolding people when she saw them treating others wrongly, and you sounded just like her."

"Really?" Harry was stunned. People often mentioned that he looked almost exactly like his father, and they always talked about the way his father had acted. He didn't think he'd ever been compared to his mother, except for the fact that they had the same eyes. Hearing that he had acted just like her was a bit startling, but Harry was happy that they had something other than bright green eyes in common.

"Really," said Mrs. Longbottom. "I have a feeling I will be hearing a lot about you in the coming years, Mr. Potter. It was good to meet you."

"You too," mumbled Harry, his thoughts still reeling. He absentmindedly bid goodbye to Neville and his Gran before turning and heading for the gateway into the muggle world. Mrs. Longbottom had given him a lot to think about.

"Hey, mate, what took you so long?"

"Huh?" Harry looked up. Ron was standing just outside the barrier, obviously having waited for Harry with his family. Hermione was standing behind him, and Harry saw her parents and the Dursleys standing a bit apart from the rest of the crowd. "Sorry. me and Neville ran into each other and all my stuff fell out of the trunk."

"Oh. You should've yelled, then we could've helped."

Harry shrugged. "It's alright, we got it back in fine."

"Yeah, well... _so long, Harry," said Ron, clapping him on the back._

 _"'Bye, Harry!" said Hermione, and she did something she had never done before, and kissed him on the cheek._

 _"Harry-thanks," George muttered, while Fred nodded fervently at his side._

 _Harry winked at them, turned to Uncle Vernon, and followed him silently from the station. There was no point worrying yet, he told himself, as he got into the back of the Dursleys' car._

 _As Hagrid had said, what would come, would come… and he would have to meet it when it did._

...

 **(Italicized print is from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, page 734.)**

...

 **Hey everyone, thanks for reading! The idea for Harry meeting Neville's Gran was from a request gotten through Eniluap12's review (Hint review! Hint). Thanks again to all the others who have reviewed, followed, or favorited, because I love to hear your thoughts and ideas! It seriously makes my day. :)**

 **Always keep reading and writing! ~Meg**


	5. Yule

It's the day of the Yule Ball, and Harry has asked Parvati to the dance, Ron is going with Padma, and Neville is taking Ginny.

" _[Harry, Ron, and Hermione] spent most of the morning in Gryffindor Tower, where everyone was enjoying their presents, then returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers." (pg. 410)_

* * *

Harry was about to join Ron in trying to recruit the twins for a snowball fight that afternoon when he saw Neville entering the Great Hall alone, his nose stuck, not for the first time, in Moody's copy of _Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean._ At that moment, something suddenly occurred to Harry.

"I'll catch up," he told Ron, who looked at him oddly. "I've got to talk to Neville for a moment," he elaborated. Ron shrugged and ran after the twins, who were now nearly at the top of the stairs.

Harry turned back to Neville and found him sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table. The nearest group of students were some short second year boys who appeared to be loudly touting the greatness of some quidditch player or other. Probably Krum, but Harry wasn't very interested in talking about professional quidditch at the moment. Instead, he quietly slid into the seat beside Neville and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, hi Harry," said Neville.

"Hey Neville," Harry said. "Ready for the ball tonight?"

Neville groaned. "It's all anyone talks about!" he complained. "I don't know if Hermione told you, but I asked her if she'd go with me. She was already going with someone else though, so I'm going with Ginny instead." Neville blushed brightly as he glanced at Harry again.

Harry smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry about it. Ron and I both ran into the same problem."

"Really?" asked Neville, "Harry, I thought all the girls wanted to go with you!"

"Yeah, all the ones who don't know me at all," Harry rolled his eyes. "You're lucky, Neville. At least you're not getting assaulted by random third year Ravenclaws on the way to the Great Hall every other day."

"I guess so," said Neville skeptically. "But anyway, what did you want to talk about? I thought you and Ron were going to have a snowball fight or something…"

"Oh, right," Harry grimaced, wondering if this had been such a good idea after all. "Well, I actually wanted to talk about… er… Ginny. She mentioned that you were taking her earlier."

Neville stared at him, then his eyes widened. "I-Wait, Harry do you like Ginny? Is that what this is about? Because we're just going as friends and-"

"No!" said Harry quickly, feeling his cheeks turning bright red. "No, no, no! I don't like her like that, you go ahead and take her!"

"Then what's the problem?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Well, I'm pretty sure Fred and George would have killed you by now if they knew it was you she was going with, and Ron heard her say it, but I don't know if it really sank in, so that leaves me. Ginny's a year younger than us, and she's Ron's little sister. I know you're just friends, and you're also my friend, but if you do anything to hurt her, or ruin this for her, or, y'know, anything… just be aware that I'll hit you with all these new hexes I'm learning for the Tournament."

Neville looked a little nervous, but also a bit confused. "Harry, I thought you didn't even know Ginny that well."

"Well, I…" Harry stumbled awkwardly over his words. Why had he thought this would be a good idea? "She's obviously not telling her brothers, and _somebody_ had to warn you."

Neville chuckled. "I'll be good, Harry, I promise." Then he winked. "I won't even tell Ginny about this conversation."

"You'd better not," said Harry, shuddering. "She'd either take it as a declaration of love or kill me for it!"

"Or both," added Neville helpfully. "But seriously, I won't do anything."

"Thanks," said Harry.

Just then, Ron came jogging over to them. "What's taking you so long, Harry? The twins probably have a huge set-up waiting for us already!"

"Sorry, Ron," Harry laughed, getting up. "Do you want to play, Neville? You can be on our team, and then it won't be quite so uneven."

"I'd rather stay in with my book, thanks," said Neville, glancing at the swirling snow outside. "Besides, I thought it was two on two."

"Two on two against the twins," Ron said. "Put together they count for at least three or four."

Neville laughed. "You're on your own. Tell me how it is getting killed by your brothers, though."

"Sure," Harry muttered. "Even Neville abandons us in the face of the twins. Why are we doing this again, Ron?"

"Dunno, mate, but the longer we stand here the more snow we get dumped on us when we finally get out there," Ron pointed out.

"Right," sighed Harry. "See you, Neville!"

"Bye, Harry," Neville called, turning back to his book.

.

Harry somehow got through the dinner and a dance with Parvati before he finally escaped and made his way over to Ron's ugly, but distinctive, frayed maroon robes. "' _How's it going?' Harry asked Ron, sitting down and opening a bottle of butterbeer."_ (pg. 420)

Before Ron could say anything, Fred and George stopped by with their dates, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, two girls who usually played Chaser on the Gryffindor quidditch team. Fred and George's robes, while not maroon and lacy like Ron's, were obviously not high quality. The girls, however, unlike Padma, didn't seem to mind.

Harry was surprised to see a bit of annoyance on the twins' faces when they came closer; he'd thought they were looking forward to the Yule Ball as much as all the giggling girls that had appeared around the school lately.

"Have you see Ginny?" asked Fred without preamble, and suddenly Harry realised why they were so upset.

"We didn't even know she was invited!" complained George.

"And when did Mum get her dress robes?" Fred cried.

"Dunno," Ron shrugged. He didn't stop glaring at Hermione and Krum dancing together for a second.

"That kid who asked her-"

"-Neville Longbottom-" George put in.

"Yes, him. What do you guys know about him?"

"Is he safe?"

"Does he like her?" asked Fred, as if it had just occurred to him that this was a possibility. Both twins immediately turned to Neville and Ginny, who looked like she was having much more fun now that the waltz was over and Neville had stopped stepping on her feet.

Angelina just rolled her eyes. "Ginny's a big girl, Fred. She can handle it."

"I agree," said Alicia. "C'mon, George, let's go get drinks."

"But we didn't even know about this!" protested George.

"Yeah, what if he does something?" Fred said. "We didn't get a chance to threaten him like we're supposed to!"

The twins turned to each other. "This could be very bad," they said together.

"Um, guys?" Harry spoke up. They turned to him like bloodhounds catching a scent. "Neville's a good guy. He's not going to do anything."

"How do you know?" asked Fred.

Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair. "I might have sort of threatened him for you."

" _What?"_ both twins bust out. Even Ron stopped his one-sided glaring contest with Krum to stare at him.

"Well," muttered Harry, "It obviously didn't sink in for Ron, and Ginny was keeping it from you guys. I didn't want her to kill me, which she might've if I told you, so I just talked to Neville myself. He's my friend, and they're going as friends, and he promised not to do anything."

Fred and George glanced at each other, nodded, and turned back to Harry.

"Well, Harry my friend-"

"We are holding you accountable-"

"For anything that Neville might do."

"You have been warned," they finished.

"Great!" said Alicia. "Can we go get some butterbeers now?"

George bowed at the waist. "Of course, my dear."

At the same time, Fred grabbed Angelina's elbow. "My Lady, may I have the honor of giving you the next dance?"

Angelina laughed. "Of course you may."

They swept away in a flurry, leaving Harry with the feeling that he'd barely missed being hit by a tornado. Now Harry _really_ hoped that Neville wouldn't do anything-for both their sakes!

Parvati had left sometime during the talk with Fred and George for a dance with a boy from Beauxbatons, and Hermione came over to sit in her vacant seat. Her face was flushed from dancing and her smile was very bright.

"' _Hi,' said Harry. Ron didn't say anything._

 _'It's hot, isn't it?' said Hermione, fanning herself with her hand. 'Victor's just gone to get some drinks.'_

 _Ron gave her a withering look._ 'Victor?' _he said. 'Hasn't he asked you to call him_ Vicky _yet?'_ (pg. 421)

Harry sighed and tuned his friends out as they began to bicker. He didn't mind that Hermione had gone to the ball with Krum at all; no, Harry's biggest concern was Neville and Ginny. After all, his very life might be in danger if Neville did anything and the twins found out about it!

Hermione stormed off, apparently too offended by whatever Ron had said. Harry just shook his head and grabbed another butterbeer while Ron complained about her and her date.

The next day, Harry was very relieved to hear that Neville had, indeed, done nothing to be worried about. Nevertheless, his friend found himself 'accidentally' pranked by the twins' fake wands and trick desserts much more often than the average Gryffindor. Ginny wasn't happy, but Harry was secretly thankful that the twins were taking it out on Neville instead of him.

He also vowed never to date a girl with brothers like that.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I would love to once again thank anyone who has followed, favorited, and/or reviewed! If you have any ideas that you'd like to see me try to write, please let me know!**

 **Always keep reading and writing :)**

 **~Meg**


	6. Moments in Time

**Hello fellow fanfiction-ers! It has been a while. I just wanted to thank anyone who continues to read this sporadically updated collection of thoughts. I would also like to give all the credit for this idea to Feste the Fool, who did it incredibly well in his/her fanfiction** ** _Especially There_** **(which is about the Squire's Tales by Gerald Morris series, an excellent read!). So that's where I got the idea to do a Harry Potter one.**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

 **1\. Fear**

There was one reason why Neville believed Harry's story without question when his friend claimed he didn't put his name into the Goblet of Fire: the look on Harry's face when his name was called.

 **2\. Darkness**

Neville used to be afraid of the dark. However, nothing was going to stop him from finding Harry to warn him that Draco knew about his plans for the dragon.

 **3\. Rage**

Neville wasn't angered by many things, but after the Carrows threatened his Gran, a visible aura of rage seemed to cover him. Until he received a letter from her.

 **4\. Blood**

By the time his detention in the Forbidden Forest was over, Neville's robes and fingers were covered with silvery streaks. It was his first time burning a set of robes because they made him feel ill. By the time the Battle of Hogwarts was over, he'd done it far too many times.

 **5\. Kind**

Professor Sprout was the real reason that Neville often felt he should've been in Hufflepuff. His role model was never his own Head of House.

 **6\. Pillow**

Whenever Harry and Ron were out of the dorm all night, Neville, Seamus, and Dean had some of the world's most brutal pillow fights. A running tally of the winners was nailed to the wall and spelled invisible at all other times.

 **7\. Blanket**

Harry kept an old beat up blanket at the bottom of his trunk. Neville had always wanted to ask him about it until he spotted the initials _LP_ in the corner...

 **8\. Family**

After that Neville understood all he needed to. How could he judge Harry when he himself had a large pile of candy wrappers hidden away from his old nosey relatives?

 **9\. Squib**

Every young Death Eater who ever mocked Neville for being a Squib became immediately and unconvincingly remorseful after Neville got his new wand.

 **10\. Joy**

Neville learned to fight in the war because he had to, but his true joy in those years came from sneaking away moments in Greenhouse 3 with a lovely young Hufflepuff called Hannah. They were, of course, only working on Herbology together.

 **11\. Mushrooms**

It was the hallucinogenic mushrooms letting off their spores that caused Neville's face to turn red. Hannah thought it would've been quite adorable if her own face wasn't having the same problem.

 **12\. Water**

The two friends were forced to jump in the lake to remove the spores properly and efficiently. Hannah hoped she didn't turn as red as she had before when Neville took one look at her soaked white uniform shirt and shut his eyes, thrusting his cloak toward her.

 **13\. Love**

When Neville asked Hannah to be his girlfriend after the war, she wondered at first whether another of the plants was causing her to have this wonderful dream. She even pinched her new boyfriend just to make sure, and kept doing so until he complained that she was giving him more bruises than the Carrows had.

 **14\. Books**

It was such a gradual process that Hermione almost didn't notice it. But she really didn't mind so much when her Mother pointed out that she'd brought three times more books for her first year than her sixth. Some things were more important.

 **15\. Smoke**

The Slytherins learned very quickly to dread whenever Snape was in an experimenting mood.

 **16\. Sunshine**

Harry, Ron and Hermione had been staying inside in the day and traveling at night for months. It wasn't until after the final battle that Harry realized his fist glimpse of the sun in weeks had lit up the Great Hall just before Voldemort's death.

 **17\. Dust**

Harry was tempted to say there was dust in his eyes at Colin Creevy's funeral. Until he remembered how often the courageous boy had been a casualty of Harry's own schemes.

 **18\. Flying**

Harry never told anyone that one of his favorite parts of Quidditch was when he came down after the game to find people who really cared about him waiting with open arms.

 **19\. Mud**

The first time Draco Malfoy was ever covered in mud was when Potter threw it at him. If he hadn't been so annoyed at the time, he might've even enjoyed it.

 **20\. Biscuits**

Mrs. Weasley cooked everything to perfection except for one thing: everyone agreed that Professor McGonagall's biscuit recipe simply couldn't be improved upon.

 **21\. Car**

If Harry hadn't entered the clearing where Voldemort waited when he did, Hagrid would have found himself rescued by a flying Ford Anglia.

 **22\. Shame**

Harry was far too surprised when it was discovered after the battle that several Slytherins had stayed behind in the school to aid him.

 **23\. Sword**

When Harry had used Gryffindor's sword to save Ginny, Ron had been incredibly jealous and impressed. He didn't realize how awful it was to be desperate enough to use that sword until many years later.

 **24\. Hat**

The Founders themselves enchanted the Sorting Hat to listen to the children's opinions above all else. After all, if a currently timid student wanted to be brave someday, or a student who struggled wanted to learn more and more, who were they to argue?

 **25\. Wand**

No matter who came in to buy a wand, and no matter which wand each child bought, Ollivander always told them to expect great things. If the child didn't believe it, who would?

 **26\. Counting**

Neville took upon himself one of the worst jobs after the battle.

 **27\. New**

Harry couldn't help but love the smell of freshly bought robes and books after his trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. The smell of something new was, in fact, new to him.

 **28\. Picture**

There was one page in Harry's album that he couldn't not ask Sirius to explain. In the first picture, James, sixteen or seventeen years old, sprinted for his life away from McGonagall, who was covered in flour, raw egg, and various other baking ingredients.

 **29\. Paint**

...Beside it was Dumbledore, looking shocked (though almost pleased), at the rainbow of color splattered upon his once-canary-yellow robes.

 **30\. Glass**

...Next, an image of a round, mustached man in emerald green drank what appeared to be pumpkin juice, only to gain the whiskers and tusks of an aged walrus.

 **31\. Music**

...Finally, a photo of James and Lily laughing and dancing around the Gryffindor common room in onesies as feathers, confetti, and marshmallows fell gently from the ceiling.

 **32\. Tangled**

Sirius just laughed and told him Lily caught her boyfriend in a net, and James promised her a dance in return for setting him free. She hadn't realized that he would prank the teachers relentlessly for the chance of a free night and a pajama party as well.

 **33\. Crayons**

When the Weasley twins were four, they discovered crayons down in Ottery St. Catchpole. The Burrow's walls were never the same again.

 **34\. Unity**

Harry didn't know what house unity at Hogwarts looked like until he was forced to mediate between his children. Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff all in one family could be a bit trying at times.

 **35\. Stars**

Remus Lupin's favorite thing to do was lay out looking at the stars on the night of a new moon. As a result, the Marauders had found every possible route to the roof of the school before their second year was over.

 **36\. Chocolate**

Teddy never understood why his grandmother teared up when he decided what his favorite food was.

 **37\. Points**

Not many people knew, but Neville always looked to Fred and George for comfort after any particularly dreadful Potions lesson. Perhaps it was because they had lost more points in a day than he had in a month's worth of Snape's classes.

 **38\. Bravery**

No matter how strong Hermione's desire to learn was, there was one thing that was more powerful still. That was all the Sorting Hat needed to see.

 **39\. Caught**

Neville had dreams about the Carrows dragging that first-year away from him for years.

 **40\. Candle**

The first time Ron saw a flashlight, he was too scared to touch it for fear of burns. Hermione had never had such fun in her life.

 **41\. Butterbeer**

During their years at school, Fred and George created a secret smuggling ring for candy, joke products, and, of course, butterbeer.

 **42\. Rain**

Sometimes Neville would go out under an umbrella in a thunderstorm. It was like he could feel the plants growing up and getting stronger, despite the pounding they were taking.

 **43\. Fog**

After his third year, Neville always felt skittish when there was fog outside his window.

 **44\. Disguise**

If Ron ever wanted to escape his newfound infamy after the war, all he had to do was spell on a fake mustache and claim to be a distant relative. Harry was extremely jealous.

 **45\. Friends**

Luna wasn't the only one who proudly displayed pictures of her friends in her bedroom.

...

 **I hope you enjoyed it! As always, reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated! Did you like it? If you want me to do more, I would love to take word suggestions from you.**

 **Keep reading and writing :)**

 **~Meg**


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